The city of Montreal needs an information technology company to build an online searchable database for municipal contracts.

According to the Montreal Gazette‘s Monique Muise, the Bureau de la ville intelligente et numérique de la Ville de Montréal (BVIN) has issued an initial call for tender “to develop a visualization tool for all contracts awarded by the city in order to make this data more accessible to citizens.” The deadline for proposals is January 25.

In essence, the city is making a step towards increased transparency within civil access to public works contracts. Whether citizens will be granted an increased chance at landing such contracts as compared to traditional companies more familiar with the process, remains unknown.

The new search engine, wrote the Gazette, would get its source material from an already existing open-data portal, but it would allow people to search more easily for specific contracts and then help them to interpret the results.

The Montreal tech company that ultimately wins the right to build the search engine will earn a fee negotiated directly with the city that will not exceed $25,000, a release said. For more information, visit donnees.ville.montreal.qc.ca/contrat-informatique.